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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30066078">Her Own Happy Ending</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilyviolin/pseuds/lilyviolin'>lilyviolin</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Frozen (Disney Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 18:02:59</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,642</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/30066078</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilyviolin/pseuds/lilyviolin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>None of the other princes Runa knew would have ever been so selfless. But what Agnarr didn’t know was that she hadn’t been fully honest with him. And no matter how much she wanted things to work out between them, to ensure that her future would be secure and happy, she knew she would always harbor that guilt of lying to him, of keeping him away from the woman he truly loved.</p><p>Retelling chapters 37 and 38 of Dangerous Secrets from the perspective of Princess Runa. This story was a finalist in the Agduna discord server's Dangerous Secrets Writing Contest. Thank you so much Mari Mancusi for providing this opportunity and for reading this!!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Agnarr/Iduna (Disney)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Her Own Happy Ending</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Princess Runa stood next to her father in the Great Hall, trying her best to appear calm despite the fact that every part of her body felt uneasy. She watched Agnarr at the front of the room as he attempted rather unsuccessfully to answer the demands of each of his subjects.<br/>
She felt the pit of guilt in her stomach grow wider and wider. Ever since she had arrived in Arendelle, she could sense the prince’s anxiety surrounding the attacks on his kingdom, which had only been growing more frequent. Her father had instructed her to put on a smiling face in order to distract Agnarr from the stress he was under, to make him believe that she was the bright spot amongst the tumult. But knowing that her visit was the cause of his stress rather than the cure made her father’s charade much more unbearable.<br/>
King Nicholas of Vassar was determined to have his daughter marry into the Arendellian throne. He had no sons, and it had been evident throughout Runa’s life that he didn’t trust a woman to lead a country. Arendelle was prosperous, with an advantageous port, and not too far from their own kingdom. She had heard plenty of talk about how the two kingdoms would both benefit greatly from this marriage, and she knew that her father had been well acquainted with the former ruler of Arendelle, King Runeard, before his passing. She had a feeling that it was why her own name was so similar to his.<br/>
Before their arrival, her father had sent in his men to wreak havoc upon the kingdom of Arendelle, in order to cause them to appear weak and in need of a stronger military, which Vassar would provide. Runa was simply to go along with all of this, acting like a perfect young princess, just as she had been taught her entire life.<br/>
She had never meant to hurt Agnarr. She knew that once he proposed to her, the acts of terror on his people would slowly come to an end, and they could be happily married. Or at least, she would be happy. But what other choice did she have? If she went against her father’s wishes in any way, he would surely be furious, perhaps even punish her somehow. And she had yet to meet someone as kind and thoughtful as Agnarr.<br/>
She was thankful that he’d been honest with her earlier: that he was in love with someone else. He had even placed all the blame on himself; he believed that she would be a great wife and mother, but that he could never be a good husband to her. None of the other princes she knew would have ever been so selfless. But what Agnarr didn’t know was that she hadn’t been fully honest with him. And no matter how much she wanted things to work out between them, to ensure that her future would be secure and happy, she knew she would always harbor that guilt of lying to him, of keeping him away from the woman he truly loved.</p><p>Agnarr was smart. Despite the people’s claims of the Northuldra being the attackers, he continued to ask if there was any proof of who was behind the crimes. It seemed that the uproar would never end until he finally stepped onto a dais and yelled, “Silence!” Once the crowd had finally settled, he asked if anyone could provide actual proof.<br/>
“I’m talking facts. Firsthand accounts. I don’t wish to hear suspicious stories of monsters hiding under children’s beds. We’re better than that.”<br/>
Just as Runa had expected, the crowd remained silent. Of course, no one could provide any proof; that was exactly how her father planned it. The only “proof” anyone had were the sun masks. The Northuldra were the People of the Sun and nearly every Arendellian harbored hatred against them since their king was murdered in the now-closed-off forest, making them an easy target for the blame.<br/>
So it came as a shock to her, along with everyone else, when Lady Iduna quietly spoke up from the back of the room. Runa recognized her immediately as the girl that Agnarr ran after during the ball. There was no doubt in her mind that Iduna was who Agnarr was in love with.<br/>
She had found materials used for making explosives, and King Nicholas was clearly dismayed by it. He immediately began explaining that of course, with this evidence it only proved that the Northuldra were bent on attacking them.<br/>
“I didn’t say they were from the Northuldra,” Iduna retorted, staring straight into the face of Runa’s father.<br/>
“But who else could they be from? We all know the Northuldra have been attacking your people for months now!” Runa could tell that her father was losing his mind.<br/>
“Have they, though? Or could it be someone else? Someone with a vested interest in Arendelle needing an army to protect it, perhaps?”<br/>
“What are you saying, Iduna?” Arendelle’s current regent, Lord Peterssen, cut in.<br/>
“Your Majesty,” Iduna continued nonchalantly, “I found these in the tents of the Vassar soldiers. Along with these.” She reached back into her bag and pulled out the sun masks.<br/>
She sure was brave. No wonder Agnarr loved her.<br/>
Runa knew that the situation was dire for Iduna. By coming forward with the truth, she was risking everything. It was highly possible that no one would believe her, and if those lie detector tests were rigged or didn’t work, she could face severe consequences for speaking up and saying something that presumably wasn’t the truth.<br/>
Once Iduna’s bold claim had been made, everyone was talking, but no one was as furious as King Nicholas. At this point he was just beside himself, attempting to discredit Iduna’s claims due to her status and even making accusations against her. Agnarr immediately announced that the King of Vassar was to be held in custody until the lie detector tests had been used and it could be determined that Iduna was telling the truth.<br/>
Runa knew that she could very easily say nothing. No one was expecting her to, in fact her father was counting on her to remain silent. Iduna’s claims would be ridiculed and eventually forgotten, and Runa could marry Agnarr like she was always supposed to.<br/>
But Runa couldn’t have that. Iduna, a girl with almost nothing, had so much strength to come forward, when doing so could have meant that all would be lost for her. She wanted to at least try to have an ounce of that courage.<br/>
It would cost her everything instead, but Iduna didn’t deserve any harm. Not when she had managed to do the right thing, what no one else had been willing or able to do.<br/>
“There’s no need for that,” Runa spoke out, using all the courage she could muster. “You don’t have to interrogate. Because I can tell you for a fact: what Lady Iduna says is true.”<br/>
The entire crowd gasped and Runa could feel the heat of her father’s anger burning onto her skin. But she didn’t owe him anything. All this time, she had been his puppet on a string, used to get whatever he wanted. Even though Agnarr turned out to be a wonderful young man, her father had never truly cared about what was best for her.<br/>
“I’m not going to lie for you anymore, Father,” she stated bluntly. The words came much more easily now. Before she knew it, she was explaining her father’s entire plan and apologizing to Agnarr for everything. Soon enough, King Nicholas was taken away.<br/>
Now came the hard part. Runa knew the only thing to do next, the only right thing, would be to face her punishment. After all, she had been guilty of all of this too, lying to the prince in order to win his hand in marriage.<br/>
“You may have them take me away as well, I won’t put up a fight.”<br/>
“No,” Agnarr replied. “Runa, I won’t make you pay for your father’s crimes. You stood up to him and told me the truth.” He quietly planned to meet with her again in order to come up with a trade agreement between their two kingdoms.<br/>
Truthfully, what Runa had always wanted most was to be able to rule Vassar herself. Sure, she wanted to meet and marry a prince someday, but Vassar was her home. With her father certainly facing punishment, she could return to her country and assume the throne herself when she became of age, instead of it being handed off to one of her cousins.<br/>
She almost couldn’t believe how kind Agnarr was being to her. She had been part of a crime against Arendelle, yet Agnarr had chosen to forgive her.</p><p>Runa fondly looked back to all of these memories upon hearing of the deaths of Arendelle’s King and Queen. It had been so many years since she had last talked to Agnarr. The two of them had worked together to form a strong alliance between their two kingdoms, and both had prospered as a result. She had also been able to find a consort who loved her as much as she knew Agnarr and Iduna loved each other, and she had her own family that she loved dearly.<br/>
No matter how much she had tried, she could never find the words to express how thankful she had been for Iduna’s decision to show courage, giving her the push that she needed to do the same, and Agnarr’s decision to show mercy towards her. She had become good friends with them both, and the news of their deaths greatly saddened her.<br/>
As she closed the letter sending her condolences, she whispered quietly to herself, “Thank you for letting me find my own happy ending.”</p>
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